#ive been doing a good job trying to keep him historically accurate

[eric-the-bmo]

you mentioned that the rats had names. may i inquire as to the names of the saintly rats

Aaaaa of course! I tried my best to put some thought into the names of the rats- more specifically, since the character who named them is from the 12th century, I tried to find saints that were canonized before he was born, but were also related to some of his own interests and issues. It was a quick delve, so there might be a few inaccuracies over whether or not he would have actually venerated a few of these Saints (because if I'm assuming correctly, different denominations of Catholicism don't venerate the same saints as everyone else? idk im not catholic), but here's the current list!:

Tutilo (famous for the lyre)

Sebastian (patronage for soldiers and the plague-stricken)

Gertrude (specifically Gertude of Nevilles, invoked against rats and fevers)

Joseph (the saint associated with Aldwulf's birthday (but also for those in doubt))

Peter (involved against criminals)

Nonnosus (invoked against physical defects and chronic pain)

While compiling this list, I also decided to grab a few more names I could use for later down the line:

Leodegar (eye problems)

Hubert (patron of hunters)

Adrian+Natalia (again, guards and soldiers)

Gereon (knights)

Aldwulf also has another rat named Samson; I read somewhere that knights had long-ish hair as a way to emulate that same character from the bible, and while I'm not sure how true that is, I ran with it! Samson's his main rat, in the sense that he listens to Aldwulf a bit more; he's also the largest rat, so he visibly spends more time around Ald compared to the others.

Thank you for the ask, this was really fun!

[kustas]

finished samurai champloo do here is my attempt to keep my opinions about it brief. REALYL good show. im trying to find a playlist of the soundtrack in order bc the music in it is SO interesting like first of all obviously the hiphop and its used vv creatively but i also am a huge fan of that fast drum beat that i think they only used twice? both times mugen was fighting someone and its just a very interesting sound for both scenes, also thw whole show was visually soso beautiful and interesting and i want to eat it. u already said everything about mugens design but i also loved that jin's clothes were long and flowy and gave him a much larger shilouhette (not how thats spelled i think) which contrasts his restrained fighting style/persinality and also kind of fun bc of his like legend thats larger than him. fuu's design was cute and i loved her dagger i wish shed used it more but tbh i think more couldve been done with her than the constant kidnapping. i also really liked that the tonal shifts were natural and it changed between fun anarchronisms and zombies and like the harrowing inner life of the characters and the real struggles of the era. overall best show ive watched this year i think. now onto mind game

hello hi! Glad you had a good time! Champloo is such a ridiculously rule of cool show, it deserves all the good press :D

You are on point about the design for the leads, in the shape language and contrast and all those little details...:) About Fuu, she's a character I'm torn on. I love that she's a rare example of a teen girl character who actually feels like a teen girl, she's peppy and cute and kicks ass when she needs to and the writing of the show and other characters (even Mugen...lmfao) treat her like a person albeit an immature one. But her role in each episode...sheesh. it's one thing to talk about how sexist that era was because it absolutely was the case, but it doesn't do much with it. She's supposed to be the protagonist, her being the damsel in distress all the time got on my nerves and I agree way more could have been done with her. I really appreciated the episodes where she solved problems with her personality in ways the two guys wouldn't have been able to. But for how rare it is to have cool girls in shows...always dissapointing to see them become secondhand sometimes.

And about the historical stuff, the "real struggles of the era", I found that for a show that openly embraces "not historically accurate get off my tits" , it does a weirdly good job teaching about aspects of the time that aren't known about in the mainstream. Jokes on the writers, I guess! Even if it's mostly played for jokes, several episodes touch on the attempts at contact/colonization by Europe especially the Dutch, and I found the mystery around the rise of Christianity one of the most interesting parts when I first watched it.

As for the music....damn right it bangs. OP/ED alone are some of the best I know in anime. Was already the case for Bebop, but Watanabe has a thing for picking really good music and using it in slightly unconventional but awesome ways. If you haven't, I strongly recommend checking out nujabes, the artist behind the opening track. Unfortunately as far as I know he's not worked on other shows, as he tragically passed away only a few years after Champloo was released. He might be the one to have popularized chill beats especially among anime fans. I'll recommend my favorite track of his, Lady Brown, the sweetest love song I know :)... As well as another unrelated track that you might dig, kode9's 9 samurai, who's beat revolves around sampling what I believe to be a Kurosawa movie soundtrack. Bit off topic but hey that's the vibe with Champloo's writing too isn't it

Thank you so much for sending me your thoughts! I hope mindgame won't blast your brains too far out :D

[peachscribe]

peach’s summer book list

i had a lot of fun compiling the list of books i read during the 20-21 winter, so i decided i would do a summer one as well! i still have a lot of books i own but haven’t read, so im definitely not lacking in material

if you didn’t see my winter list, how my book list works is basically like this: i read a book that i own but have not previously read, write a short summary immediately after finishing the book, write down my thoughts on the book, and then provide a rating for the book. i also might include background info on why i read this particular book/feelings about the author, but that depends on the book. that’s how each entry works

without further ado, let’s get started!

1. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

okay so i absolutely adore another book by andrew smith (written after grasshopper jungle) called the alex crow. it’s one of my favorite books of all time, so naturally i wanted to see if grasshopper jungle would make me feel similarly. just like the alex crow, grasshopper jungle’s plot is. so fucking weird. it stars austin szerba, a teenage polish kid who lives in ealing, iowa, and is often sexually confused regarding his girlfriend shann and his best friend robby. and in ealing, iowa, austin and robby accidentally and unknowingly unleash an unstoppable army of huge six-foot-tall praying mantis bugs that only want to do two things: fuck and eat. and i just have to say: andrew smith’s got an absolutely dynamo writing style. alex crow is similar, where it’s a book about kind of everything all at once, framed in a moment centering around teenage boys. it’s fantastic, and it’s more than a little gross, and i love it. this book made me feel so many things, and i thought austin was such an amazing narrator and main character to identify with. this book has it all: shitty teenage boy humor, fucked up science experiments, and poetic imagery that will make you want to cry. and explicit lgbt characters.

412/10 andrew smith what do you put in your water i just want to know

2. Burn by Patrick Ness

patrick ness has written a plethora of some of my favorite books (such as a monster calls, the chaos walking trilogy, and the rest of us just live here) so when i saw this one in the store i knew it would be a great one. burn is an alternate history fantasy that takes place in 1957 frome, washington, during the height of the cold war, and it begins with a girl named sarah and her father hiring a dragon to help out on their farm. but there’s not just dragons, farm living, and cold war tensions; there’s also a really shitty small town cop, a cult of dragon worshippers and their deadly teenage assassin, a pair of fbi agents, and a prophecy that sarah’s newly hired dragon claims she’s a part of. i think eoin colfer’s highfire was on my winter list, which also featured a story that included dragons and shitty cops, so when i first began burn i thought it was funny to have two books that had both things. you know, if you had a nickel etc etc. but that’s really where the similarities end because burn is entirely it’s own monster (dragon). burn is entirely invested in its world, and its fascinating. not only that, i had no clue where the book would take me next. there were so many surprises and amazing twists that honestly just blew me away. this book also includes beautifully written complicated discussions on family, race, and love - it features interracial and queer romances as the two most prominent romance plots which was such a nice surprise from a book i wasn’t expecting to have that kind of representation. this book is witty, fast-paced, and a very heartening read - i absolutely adored it.

9/10 dragons and becoming motivated by the power of love and friendship are so fucking cool

3. As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann

i hate this book! as meat loves salt is a historical fiction novel which takes place in seventeenth century england, which is going through a grisly civil war. the protagonist, jacob cullen, is a servant for a wealthy household and is engaged to another servant in the house. but due to certain events that are almost entirely jacob’s fault, he flees the house and is separated from his wife. from there, he joins the royal army and meets a kind soldier, ferris, and the two become fast friends. jacob and ferris’s relationship begins to bridge past friendly, and jacob struggles with his homoerotic feelings as well as the growing obsession and violence inside him. also, they try to start a colony. listen, i don’t know how to describe the book because so much happens, but it basically just follows jacob and all the terrible decisions he makes because he is, truly, a terrible person. ferris is kind and good, and jacob is scum of the earth. he sucks so bad. the entire time i was reading this book (which took absolutely so long), all i wanted was for jacob to just get his ass handed to him. i wanted to see him suffer. and it’s not like i just personally don’t like him - i believe the book purposefully depicts him as unsympathetic even though he is the narrator. i did enjoy the very in depth and accurate portrayal of what life would’ve been like in seventeenth century england, and i think it was interesting to read a character that is just the absolute worst person you’ve ever encountered and see him try and justify his actions, so if you enjoy that kind of thorough writing, then this book would be perfect for you. however, i did not see that bitch ass motherfucker jacob cullen suffer enough. i’d kill him with my bare hands.

2/10 diversity win! the worst man on earth is mlm!

4. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

i know ive had a friend tell me how great one of schwab’s other book series is, but truthfully i bought this book because the cover is sick as hell and it was on a table in the store that advertised for buy two get one free, i think. something like that. anyway, this savage song takes place in a future in which monsters, for whatever reason, suddenly became real and out for blood in a mysterious event nicknamed the phenomenon. august flynn is one of these monsters, but he takes no pride in that fact and only wants to feel human. kate harker is the daughter of a ruthless man and is trying her hardest to be ruthless, too, but deep down she knows it’s just an act. their city, verity, stands divided, and kate and august stand on either side - but when august is sent on a mission to befriend kate in the hopes of stopping an all out war, the lines begin to blur. this book rules. august and kate are such interesting and dynamic characters, and the narrative is familiar while still being capable of twisting the story around and taking the feet out from under you in really compelling ways. this savage song is part of the monsters of verity duology, and i can’t wait to dive into how the story continues and finishes.

11/10 sometimes you can judge a book by it’s cover

4a. Our Dark Duet by Victorian Schwab

this is the sequel and finale for this savage song and i’d figure i’d update everyone: fantastic ending, beautiful, showstopping, painful.

12/10 loved it and will definitely be keeping an eye out for schwab’s other books

5. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

oh boy. okay. white is for witching is about a house, and it is about the women who have lived inside of it. when her mother dies abroad, miranda silver begins to act strangely, and there’s nothing her father or her twin brother seem to be able to do about it. she develops an eating disorder and begins to hear voices in the silver family house, converted to a bed and breakfast by miranda’s dad; and she begins to lose herself in the house and the persistent presence of her family legacy. white is for witching switches perspective dizzingly and disorientingly between miranda, her twin eliot, miranda’s friend from school named ore, and the house itself. this story is a horror story as much as it as a tragedy as much as it is a romance as much as it is a bunch of other things. oyeyemi brings race, sexuality, nationality, and family into this story and forces you not to look away. this book is poetry.

(like i mentioned briefly, this book heavily deals with topics of race and closely follows miranda’s eating disorder. read responsibly, and take care of yourselves)

15/10 this book consumed me and i think i’ll have to read it another 10 more times to feel it properly

6. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

okay. okay. strap in for a ride. these violent delights is a romeo and juliet style story, taking place in glittering 1920’s shanghai. the city stands divided - not only between the foreign powers encroaching on chinese land, but also between the scarlet gang and the white flowers, who are at the height of a generations-long blood feud. juliette cai, heir to the scarlets, has recently returned from four years abroad and is determined to prove herself ruthless enough to lead. roma montagov, heir to the white flowers, is standing strenuously on his place as next in line due to a slip up four years prior and is desperate to keep hold of his title. and in the midst of juliette and roma’s burning history with each other threatening to combust, an unnatural monster lurks in the waters of shanghai, loosing a madness on scarlets and white flowers alike. this book has it all - scorned ex lovers, political intrigue, deadly monsters, and all set on a glamorous backdrop of the roaring twenties. i absolutely was enraptured by this book and the way it plays around the story of romeo and juliet so well that it easily became it’s own monster, but with the punches and embraces of something classically shakespearan. gong does just an absolutely breathtaking job of fitting this fantastical story amid the larger world of shanghai and the real life historical events that had shaken the city to its core. completely immersive and outstandingly heart racing.

17/10 i was chewing on my fingernails for the last thirty pages and will continue to do so until the sequel is released (our violent ends, 16 nov 21)

7. The Antiques by Kris D’Agostino

you ever heard of the american dysfunctional family story? this is most definitely that. at the same time george westfall’s cancer takes a turn for the worse, a hurricane hits the east coast, and suddenly all at once the issues of his health, the hurricane, and all three of his children’s achingly dysfunctional adult lives are crashing into each other. reunited by george’s death, the westfall siblings have to face their grief, each other, and the problems in their own lives they attempted to put on hold while planning their father’s memorial. this is a nice story about grief and loss and love and somehow finding the humor amidst it all.

(this book does include a depiction of an autistic child who does experience several pretty bad meltdowns due to ignorant people around him not understanding how to cater to his needs. im not an authority on what depictions are or are not harmful, but i do believe this depiction is ultimately loving and well-intended.)

7/10 it made me laugh and cry and was generally one of those books that somehow hit you close to home

8. Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill

fierce fairytales is a poetry anthology that reimagines classic fairytales from a modern, feminist viewpoint, acknowledging that the line between hero and villain, monster and damsel, are not as clear cut as the classics try to make you believe. this book also includes illustrations done by the author herself, which i think is really cool. my personal favorite story reimagining was the story of peter pan and captain hook, called ‘boy lost’ which looked at how peter and hook’s relationship began and rotted. all in all, i think this collection of stories had a lot of important things to say and said them in frank, easy to understand poetry and prose.

7/10 beautiful message and pretty prose, but at times a little cliche

and that’s all from the summer! my fall semester starts tomorrow, and overall i feel very good about all the reading i did this summer. i even read four other books not on this list for work! so i definitely feel like i made the most out of my time, and im really glad i was able to read so many stories that made me feel a variety of different things

thanks so much for reading this list, and let me know if you read or have read any of these books and tell me what you think of them!

happy reading<3

[ducavalentinos]

Is Meyer's book on The Borgias subtitled 'Hidden History' or is that another book lol I want to make sure I get the right one (Meyer's is good, right?)

Yes, it’s the same book, anon. Is it good? I mean, it has its issues like any other bio. Personally I don’t think Meyer did a good job where Cesare, Lucrezia, and their sibling relationship are concerned. He doesn’t challenge much of the official narratives and assumptions made about their characters and lives, not like he does with Rodrigo. I don’t think they were his point of interest, either. Indeed, it’s easy to see his interest, his focus were on their father, Rodrigo, and his papacy as Alexander VI. I’ll put my thoughts under keep reading because idk if you are reading it now, and I don’t want to impose my conclusions about his work without you having formed your own first, so if you like you can check the rest after you’re done reading, or you can check it now, it’s your choice ;)

He is a diehard fan of Rodrigo, more so than previous scholars I think, although I’m still less of an expert on Rodrigo’s historical literature. So naturally, he tries his best to give him justice, and to set the record straight in regards to his reputation as Pope. I believe he follows De Roo, and the phenomenal work about Rodrigo and his family, published in 1924 iirc. I think it was Meyer’s intention to make De Roo’s research, and his great questionings more easily available towards a general audience, since De Roo’s work is very scholarly, very long and not so easy to find. And I understand what he was trying to do, I appreciate his effort, at least he tried to deliver something new, I just don’t think it worked out that well tbh. Because no matter how strongly you may disagree with De Roo’s interpretation of Rodrigo, some even call him an apologist (which he certainly was not imo), there is no denying his arguments are all incredibly well constructed. He meticulously exposes all of his evidence for his claims and conclusions. He gives the reader a pathway for his thought process. Meyer often does not offer evidence for his claims and conclusions about Rodrigo, much less about Cesare, Lucrezia, and other popes lol, nor he tries to explain his thought process at all. You have to guess, or just take his word for it, which always gets a big no no from me. And that leads to many confused moments, and contradictions on his part. It gets messy from time to time and you have to check other sources. He also goes about the wrong routes when trying to give Rodrigo justice. His tactic is basically: I’ll attack and blame anyone around Rodrigo, esp. Cesare, in order to acquit him. Cesare has to be thrown under the bus, again, (as he always is by all sides btw) in order for Rodrigo to get his rehabilitation. He is the “dark force” working behind his father, forcing him to do his will. Which not only it’s laughable, it’s also truly unfair to Cesare as it is for Rodrigo himself. He was not a Sixtus IV. He was and remain the patriach of the family until the end. And in the same way he doesn’t deserve to still be remember as one of the worst Popes in history (quite contrary actually) Cesare also doesn’t deserve to be everyone’s scapegoat, and still remember as this evil tyrant, or Renaissance’s villain. Or perpetually as Machiavelli’s Prince, with all its negative implications attached to it. The latter which, whether Meyer intended or not, he certainly feeds into it and helps to perpetuate. In addition, this narrative doesn’t help in understanding Rodrigo and Cesare’s complex and amazing relationship. It completely ignores the fact they mostly worked together, and their interests were very much interwined. That they were one of the most remarkable, powerful duo of this period. One that made the whole of Italy tremble in envy, anxiety and hatred for their accomplisments. Understanding their dynamics has a direct link to understanding one of the key factors of how the Borgian myths came about, and it was a missed opportunity for Meyer, sadly. De Roo seems to have understood this better, unlike other Rodrigo scholars I’ve read, he miraculously tried to be fair to both father and son. Giving them a honest, equal treatment. He does not see the need to attack nor blame others to justify Rodrigo’s behavior. He prefers to simply insert the man within his historical and social context, and let the evidence do the talking. Only pointing out what’s malicious gossip with its political agenda behind it, and what’s hostile and uncredible sources. Had Meyer followed these routes and approaches of De Roo here, instead of not offering historical evidence to back up his claims, and letting his bias go unchecked, his book would have been better imo. As it is, it’s ok. Definitely better than Bradford’s bios for example, (not a hard thing to accomplish tbh, but still lol) or the other more popular, generic bios about the Borgia family. The same caution needs to be applied though, when it comes to Rodrigo’s family, as well as other people outside his family. Meyer is accurate about the lords of the Romagna in general, but not so much about other Popes. He tends to be a bit too harsh and dishonest about them and their papacies, again, in order to rehabilitate Rodrigo. Other good aspects for me about his book were his treatment of Juan Borgia, he was possibly the least venomous one, that I've read. Dealing with him more fairly than others, at least acknowledging we don't actually have a lot about Juan to make so many claims about his character. And I adored the way he constructed the book, with chapters about Italy in between the ones about the Borgia family. It was the hightest point for me. It was a nice, creative addition, that allows you to understand the political and social context of the time the Borgias were borned and lived in. If you already know these things, it’s still very enjoyable to read it. Meyer, like the majority of Borgia scholars, is clearly a skilled writer. I really wish he would write a bio about the Catholic Church and Italian politics from the 11th to 16th century. I think he would thrive there.

[akissatmidnight]

As we wait for season three of Outlander‘s TV show with bated breath, there’s never a better time to talk about book three in the series, Voyager. So, in this post, I’ll be discussing what real life events, people, places, and laws were brought into book three that we hope are mirrored in season three! And since I any chance to use my history degree, this will contain some historically accurate spoilers. So if you hate spoilers, or want to read Voyager before the show airs, read no further! This is a spoiler filled post that takes no prisoners.

Dun Bonnet Cave

I’ve talked a bit about the use of this real life story before here, but let’s revisit it, as it will probably get some major screen time in season three.

So, there was a real life Scot named James Fraser, the 9th of Foyers, who joined Simon, Lord Lovat, on the battlefield of Culloden in support of Bonnie Prince Charles. Well, as we all know, those who fought for Charles were basically killed, imprisoned, shipped off to the colonies, or lost their lands. Well, James Fraser was having none of that, so he found a cave near the waterfall of Foyers, where he hid for seven years.

Luckily, his people were rather fond of him, and kept his whereabouts secret from the redcoats, calling him “Bonaid Odhair”, which means, “Dun Coloured Bonnet”. And the similarities to the Diana Gabaldon tale don’t end there! A young boy, who often brought supplies to James Fraser in the cave has his hand cut off when he was caught by the redcoats. Sorry, Fergus!

Scotland and Slavery

This is something that many people don’t know much about, but it means that many Americans who have some Scot in their family history could have ended up in the States after their ancestors were sent there in chains. Although many families did flee willingly once strict laws were enacted and famine and poverty hit Scotland. By the way, the use of the word “slavery” is still under historical debate. This is because the Scottish people deported by the British often had an end date to their sentence, unlike the African slaves who often lived their entire lives in cruel captivity.

Anyway, the British government wasn’t too pleased with the Scottish after the Jacobite Rebellions of 1715 and 1745. But what to do with all the able bodied men who might rise up again if given the chance? Easy, ship them to the colonies to work the farms! They can make money for the crown and be far away from their comrades in arms.

It’s said that 1,5000 to 2,000 highland “convicts” were sent to the North American colonies or the Caribbean colonies every year after the 1715 rebellion. Mostly, they were given terms of three to seven years of hard labor on plantations, or other labor heavy jobs, to “work off their debt”, if they weren’t forced into servitude indefinitely. Some didn’t even gain their freedom until they fought for England in the American Revolution!

However, there were Scots who actively participated in the Slave trade who weren’t servants, but plantation overseers and paid workers. This is seen in Voyager as Kenneth MacIver, who was Jared’s overseer at his Jamaican plantation. While this is a dark part of Scottish history, it is part of history nonetheless. Some wealthy Scots, such as Colonel John Campbell from Inveraray, who owned one of the larger sugar plantations in Jamaica. Today, the Campbell name is widespread in Jamaica, although those Campbells may never know if they descended from owners, servants, or anything in between. There are also dozens of places within Jamaica that share the same names as places in Scotland, such as Culloden, Argyle, and St. Andrews.

Dress Act of 1746

On August 1, 1746 the wearing of “Highland Dress” was made illegal by the British crown. This included tartans, kilts, and shoulder belts. It was a way for the British to try and cut the ties that connected the members of the clans and seemed effective in breaking down some of the allegiances. What made it so effective was the harsh punishments that would be enacted if someone broke this law. For the first offense, the person would be imprisoned for six months and if they were caught again, they would be sent to the colonies and engage in hard labor for seven years.

The only Scots who could still wear the tartans were members of the British military, more notably in the Black Watch. The Black Watch was an infantry battalion that was originally made up of members from Clan Grant, Clan Campbell, Clan Fraser of Lovat, and Clan Munro. They were first tasked with keeping the highlands at bay by collecting weapons and policing for any signs of uprisings.

Use of the Dress Act can be seen in Voyager, when Jamie claimed a piece of green checked Mackenzie tartan that was found in the prison in order to save the skin of young Angus Mackenzie. For the offense of having this strip of plaid, he was sentenced to thirty lashes. This also means that we won’t be seeing many kilts or plaid this season.

Selkies

So this is something that’s talked about a bit in book three and stuck out to me, as I’m a huge fan of this particular mythical creature. The Scottish refer to them as “maighdeann-mhara”, or “maidens of the sea”.

There are many legends that surround the selkies. They are said to live in the sea as seals, but sometimes come upon shore, shedding their seal skins and becoming beautiful women, or even men. If someone hides a selkie’s seal skin, they can take the selkie as a husband of wife, and they apparently make wonderful spouses. But, as in many Scottish tales, there is often an unhappy ending. A selkie never feels completely at ease on land, and if they ever find their hidden seal skin, they will return to the sea, never seeing their human husband or wife again.

We hear a lot about seals and a bit about selkies, called “silkies” in Voyager when it comes to the hidden goldon the seal’s island…and even Jamie’s own mother. Jamie tells Claire that people used to say that his mother Ellen had run away from Castle Leoch to join the silkies, because his father, Brian, resembled one who had shed his seal skin to walk on land.

Real Jacobite Gold

As we all know, the Jacobite treasure in Voyager was given by the French and hidden away. But there is some real Jacobite gold that some say is still hidden in Loch Arkaig in Scotland.

Two ships called Mars and Bellona came to Scotland with 1,200,000 livres of French and Spanish money.  But the ships heard about the Jacobite defeat at Culloden and ditched the seven cases of money at a port in Loch nan Uamh. One case was stolen by the MacDonalds and the seven others were secretly taken to Loch Arkaig by Murray of Boughton, who started giving money to the Scottish clan chiefs. But when Murray was captured by the British, the money was taken over by the chief of Clan Cameron and then by the head of Clan Macphearson. Macphearson spent much of his time hiding in a cave at Ben Adler…eight years of time, in fact.

Anyway, Charlie hightailed it out of Scotland and into France, leaving his money behind. But a failed king is no good to anyone and old Charlie was beginning to pine for his gold. But it, apparently, was never seen again. It’s assumed that Macphearson kept it all, but no one knows. It could still be hidden somewhere in Loch Arkaig.

Pirates

When I started reading the series, I never thought that I would see a pirate ship in the distance. But as we’ve read, Young Ian is kidnapped off the coast of Scotland by a bunch of pirates aboard the Bruja, which is Spanish for “witch”. Long story short, the Bruja makes it to port in Barbados, and hands Ian, along with the Jacobite gold he was in the process of taking when he was captured, to Mrs. Abernathy. The ship is later destroyed, but the damage is done and they’ve brought the Frasers, inadvertently, to the Americas.

Piracy was slowing down in the 1760s, but was still an active thing in the Caribbean region. One notable Bermudian pirate was Samuel Hall Lord, who straight up plundered any and all ships that he crossed paths with, even swiping riches from stranded sailors. Hall was also a really smart guy. Outside his mansion, on the beach, he would hang lanterns so that unsuspecting ships would think it was the port and sail right into his clutches, wrecking themselves on the reefs. BTW, this pirate built himself a castle. Talk about flair.

Printing in Scotland

One of the most anticipated scenes in season three is the print shop scene. You know, where Claire finally finds Jamie again after 20…well, 200? 220? years have gone by and they’re finally reunited…it’s probably the part I’m looking forward to the most, but let’s take a peek at printing history in Scotland and get a feel for what Jamie was up to in Edinburgh.

In1507, Walter Chepman and Andrew Myllar were given the first royal license for printing in Scotland by James IV in Edinburgh. The first book ever printed via press was The first printed book from this press was The Complaint of the Black Knight by John Lydgate. While this seemed to be a success for them, printing wasn’t an instant hit in Scotland, with new presses being stationed in St. Andrews in 1552, another for a hot minute in Stirling in 1571, and another still in Aberdeen in 1622. After that, they became more widely spread.

The fist Scottish printers would have been trained in France, but as the practice grew, the Scots would have been left to their own devices. And by the 1760s, it didn’t get much easier, as the letters still needed to be set and inked by hand. To get an idea, here’s what Jamie’s printing press might look like…

Prostitution in Scotland

The brothel where Jamie does business, and often keeps a bed, is probably going to be a prime filming location in season three. But what would life have really been like behind the doors of Madame Jeanne’s establishment, you ask? Well, dear reader, let’s chat about the ladies of the night…

The the early and mid 1700’s was basically Scotland’s sexual revolution where prostitution was widespread and some of the best business and deals were made in the lounges and libraries of brothels. They weren’t as flashy as the French brothel we saw in season two, but the girls were kept clean, in good dresses, and as disease free as one can be in the 1700s. These establishments could be hidden down in alleyways or set right in the open in grand houses, while the local police turned a blind eye. I mean, it was such a favorite pastime of the wealthy Scottish that in 1775 James Tyler, a surgeon and editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica published Ranger’s Impartial List of the Ladies of Pleasure, which was basically a directory of all the brothels and their workers in Edinburgh.

Unfortunately, Scotland began to crack down on prostitution in the 1790s, with the girls being arrested on a regular basis and imprisoned. So, I hope Madame Jeane would have had a lot of money saved up for when the government started knocking on her door.

Rose Hall and the White Witch

This is a particular bit that I was eager to get to. I hope, very dearly, that they shoot on location for this one because the Rose Hall mansion is gorgeous! Anyway, we all know Rose Hall as being the home of Mrs. Abernathy AKA Geillis Duncan. Well, this manor home is a very real place, as is the ghost that haunts it.

Rose Hall is a Gregorian Mansion in Jamaica, was built in the 1770s, and was owned by a John Palmer. It was a large estate that usually held about 250 slaves and dealt mostly in sugar. It stayed in the Palmer family for a bit, then went vacant and into disrepair, finally being revived in the 1960s.

As for the legend of the White Witch (which has unfortunately been revealed as nothing more than a story) it centered around Annie Palmer, John Palmer’s wife. Annie was basically raised by nannies who taught her voodoo and carrid on her love of the dark arts into her marriages. Three husbands are said to have died at her hands, along with many innocent slaves. Remind you of anyone?

And Bonnie Prince Charlie

We can’t forget to talk about old charlie and what he did after Culloden…

Soooo during the Battle of Culloden, near the end, things weren’t going great. Basically, Charlie was ignoring the advice of commander Lord George Murray and just ordering whatever he wanted, which wasn’t going well. So Murray was basically like, “screw this, he doesn’t listen to a thing I say,” and drew his men back to attack from a different position. And Charlie, who again didn’t listen, finally noticed Murray was gone, he was like, “oh, Murray left? Well…I guess I’ll head out now,” and left the rest of the Jacobites on the field.

Even though the war was lost, the men never betrayed him to the British and helped him hide in the moors until he could escape the country. He finally did so when Flora MacDonald dressed him up as her maid, Betty Burke, and took him to the Isle of Skye, where a French Ship took him to the France. This is where the Sky Boat Song comes into play, although they leave out the dress and wig.

Charlie as Betty

Losing Scotland drove him to drink and conduct affairs. He was known for being an abusive drunk to the women closest to him, causing all of them to leave, even his own wife.

That’s all for this Saturday! Remember to check back every week for some new Outlander goodness and click HERE to read all out past Droughtlander posts.

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And if you’ve been following out journeys into publishing, you know that we’re really excited about our first ever published books! They’re currently available for preorder on Amazon, so take a look and see if you think our romance novels belong on your Kindle!

You can see more about my Scottish historical romance novel, Queen of Emeralds, and preorder it, now HERE!

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